Again, Rachel has all the ingredients that make Marian’s books so uniquely special – warmth, humour, sadness and depth. But an old love unexpectedly back in her life throws her off her game and brings back painful memories. In what ways do Rachel’s personal struggles impact her role as a rehab counse l lor in Again, Rachel ? A soulful tale, reminding us of just how charismatic Marion Keyes is as a storyteller, Again, Rachel is a story of love, humour, tragedy, love, loss, survival, fragility and family. The people we were introduced to and came to know throughout the Walsh family chronicles are the same people, yet some have been allowed to grow and mature.

Having really enjoyed Rachel's Holiday years ago, I was really intrigued to see what happened to her next. But ultimately this is Rachel’s story, and as it unfolds, Keyes deftly draws parallels between her recovery and that of her patients, forcing her to reassess the progress she’s made and to confront painful truths about herself and her past.Rachel is madcap, earnest, witty, giving and so sharply observant, and yet she also has the most enormous cognitive dissonance about herself. Twenty-five years ago, Rachels' Holiday was published and there are millions of us who were overjoyed when we learnt that Marian Keyes had penned the sequel. The plot introduces a slew of characters all suffering from various addictions, and how Rachel works with them to break them down and get them on the path to recovery.

I realize that this might be too difficult for some people to read about, it definitely made me tear up at times because the author conveys the depth of grief so perfectly. It was nice to see where Rachel's life took her and how things panned out for her but I'm not one of the OG fans who were fully invested in it so it didn't quite hit the mark for me. Obviously it was great fun reuniting with the Walsh clan, but another added bonus was meeting all Rachel's patients at The Cloisters rehab center. At the very least, you most definitely should read Rachel’s Holiday but Again, Rachel will spoil key parts of the other books if you plan on reading them. When I found out it was centered around Rachel and it takes place 20 years after Rachel’s Holiday, I had to pinch myself to be sure.There is chaos and humour in the life of the Walsh family, as when Rachel and her sisters prepare a “surprise” party for her mother’s 80th birthday. But it was way too long and there were too many characters - and I cared about none of them, even Rachel and her sisters. I totally forgot how mad and unique this clan was but I didn’t take long for me to get myself reacquainted with this fun-loving family. I’m going to hide this whole review behind the spoiler filter so recommend stopping here if you are planning on reading this book - although the big reveal about half-way through is heavily sign-posted so not a surprise, and neither is the ending.

I learned a huge amount about addiction recovery and how addiction can take on many forms and go through many pathways.The long-awaited follow up to Keyes' bestselling Rachel's Holiday finds our titular heroine having hauled her life back on track, only to suffer a spectacular setback when an old flame arrives in her life once more. I read "Rachel's Holiday" in early 2000's, so this novel is a long awaited sequel and an exciting reunion with the Walsh Family. I gave a content warning for stillbirth in this book on Instagram and I’ll mark this review as a spoiler because of that. In all of Marian Keyes's books, The heroines go through horrendous times before getting to the happy and uplifting. Amid this dynamic family, an essential plot point revolves around the matriarch’s attempts to orchestrate a ‘surprise party’ for herself, which is simultaneiously funny and semi-tragic.